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Corporate CEOs Got the Money, Now We Want the Jobs

April 5, 2018

Remember those big promises that President Trump and the Republican Congress made about their corporate tax bill? President Trump said every worker would receive a whopping $4,000 raise if the bill passed. Corporations made promises, too. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson was one of the biggest supporters of the Republican corporate tax cut bill and promised to create thousands of good jobs in the U.S.

So now that the tax bill has gone into effect, where are those $4,000 raises? Where are those good jobs?

It's clear that corporations plan to use their windfall to boost executive pay and reward large shareholders. To hold them to their promises, working people need to join together and fight. That's why CWA's bargaining teams have sent letters to employers including AT&T, Piedmont Airlines, Envoy Air, and Nexstar Broadcasting requesting detailed information on how those companies are using their gains from the largest corporate tax cut in U.S. history. We're working with unions representing nearly 6 million workers including SEIU, AFT, and the Teamsters to hold employers accountable for the promises they made to raise wages and bring jobs back to the U.S. if the tax bill passed.

We want to find out how much the companies are benefiting from the tax cut, what portion of those benefits they are using to raise wages and create jobs, and exactly how many jobs have been sent to contractors. We will use the information to bargain for contract changes that raise wages and bring jobs back for our members.

Failure to disclose the requested information could subject the companies to an Unfair Labor Practice complaint under the National Labor Relations Act. CWA and the other unions plan to send more letters as they enter into bargaining with other companies.

"Working people deserve to know how their employers plan to spend their tax savings so they can bargain for a fair share of the windfall and ensure that corporations do more to bring jobs home and improve pay and benefits," said CWA President Chris Shelton.